Colonial clout on display at Blue Mountain

Had a nice visit to Blue Mountain on Tuesday night. Hadn't been there for awhile and was impressed with the gym and the way they made sure the press, including the often forgotten about print media, was treated.

I was even more impressed with the two Colonial League teams on display. Frankly, I drove up Route 61 expecting both the Notre Dame girls and Southern Lehigh boys to lose against highly-touted Schuylkill League members.

But this was a night for Colonial League pride.

Both the Crusaders and Sparans showed their mettle.

I hadn't seen Notre Dame's girls before tonight, but I was impressed with how they kept their poise and didn't let the bigger, more physical Pine Grove team rattle them. Pine Grove is one of the storied names in District 11 girls basketball. It's a program you expect to win every year at this time. But Notre Dame didn't care about the Cardinals mystique or their size advantage and outhustled and outworked the favored opponent. I don't think Pine Grove, playing for the first time in two weeks and showing some rust, knew what hit them.

Jennifer Green made three 3-pointers in the pivotal third quarter when Notre Dame took command and a 10-point lead and she talked about how much the seven seniors on the team were determined to make sure their seasons and careers weren't going to end on this night and they didn't let it happen.

To some, this was an upset, but Notre Dame won this game handily and really dominated the second half.

(Melissa Degenhart and teammates)

I don't know how Notre Dame will do against Tamaqua in the 2A finals on Friday night, but I do know that Josh Kopp, like his father Mike, will have his team ready to play and will make the right defensive adjustments to keep his team in contention.

In the second game, Southern Lehigh also showed its grit, responding to a 19-10 deficit in the second quarter when they looked for all the world like they were going to get blown out.

Each time I see Southern Lehigh I am impressed with Cory Schmidt and his ability to take over games, often gradually. But I am also impressed with his supporting cast.

Schmidt is the star, no doubt. However, the Spartans have kids who know how to compete and win. I thought they were going to let a six-point lead slip away in the fourth quarter with a flurry of turnovers. It looked like the Spartans stopped attacking and merely wanted to run out the clock. They did, in fact, lose that lead and North Schuylkill tied the game and had the ball.

But North Schuykill couldn't get anything to fall late and Southern Lehigh did, on Schmidt's two clutch free throws with 19 seconds left.

Credit Southern Lehigh for making it to four straight 3A title games. On Friday night at Northampton, the Spartans will be in their eighth D11 title game since 1992, but they're still looking for that first district gold.

Bob Shaffer has done a nice job, but he and the program will never get the credit and respect they want -- and I know Shaffer is a proud guy who wants to be respected -- until they're the ones getting those gold medals draped around their necks.

Maybe Friday night is the night. Pottsville is not your typical No. 9 seed. They showed that when they knocked off No. 1 seed Wilson in the quarterfinals

Schmidt told me that Pottsville has his team's respect because they beat a Wilson team that beat Southern Lehigh twice. But unlike all of the past district title games when Southern Lehigh was matched against more seasoned, battle-tested Central Catholic teams, this is an even matchup.

(Cory Schmidt took a beating, but kept on battling against N. Schuylkill)

The Crimson Tide comes from that rugged Schuylkill League and they have to feel like they're playing with house money considering they barely qualified for the tournament.

But Southern Lehigh matches up well. They just have to go out and play their game and get everyone involved. Schmidt is very good, but he can't do it alone. Pottsville, like everyone else, will focus on stopping him. That means other people will be open. When they're open, those unsung Spartans need to hit their shots. If they do, we're going to see history made on Friday night.

Most of Southern Lehigh's other losses in the district finals were played at Allen. The venue is Northampton this time and maybe, just maybe, the final result will be different as well.